SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Jan. 25 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Official College of Psychology of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has denounced that, once again, the call for Internal Resident Psychologists (PIR) in the Canary Islands does not meet the needs of psychologists on the islands, nor does the exam on the syllabus of the specialty .
Through a statement, the COP has indicated that the 4,073 applicants for 208 places throughout the country “shows the difficulty of applying for a training place for the specialty of clinical psychologist, while in the Canary Islands the reality is even worse , since it has been repeated in recent years that only four PIR places are called, two in hospitals in Tenerife and two in Gran Canaria”.
From the Tenerife COP they stress that the Tenerife Teaching Commission has been requesting more PIR places from the Ministry for years because they consider that four would have to leave for Tenerife and four for Gran Canaria, but once again the increase has been denied, they criticize.
Regarding the PIR exam held this Saturday, the Official College of Psychology points out that the feeling of aspiring psychologists was unfair because they appreciate that there are fewer and fewer purely clinical questions and there is a greater presence of the biomedical model. In addition, they criticize that non-reference manual questions were asked in the preparation of the PIR.
This complaint is joined by the deans of Psychology colleges throughout the country, who consider both the number of places unfair and the fact that the exam does not respond to a clear program on psychological aspects.
In the case of the islands, according to information provided to this College, “psychological care is being incorporated into Primary Care with psychologists with health clearance because there are no clinical psychologists available. The PIR specialists in the primary network are a minority. It should be added that the Trainee clinical psychologists rotate two months in health centers as part of their four-year training.
According to the COP, health psychologists can attend to the majority of discomforts that usually arrive at Primary Care consultations, such as anxiety, stress or depression, depending on the case, and to refer the professional to specialized care, but it must be warned that that more clinical psychologists are needed to care for a population with growing mental health problems, in a context of post-pandemic crisis, an increase in certain disorders (eating behavior, suicidal ideation…), without forgetting that they are getting younger, boys and girls who require this public specialized psychological care, on time and without long waits”.
In addition, the collegiate entity recalls that promoting universal and free psychological care in the public health system is not only an emergency in terms of people’s comprehensive health, but also means cost savings for the system itself and avoids the overmedication of patients attending Primary Care.
